New Des Plaines official will resign spot on Antioch board

George Sakas will leave his post as Antioch trustee to become the new director of community and economic development in Des Plaines. (City of Des Plaines, Handout)

A gain for Des Plaines appears to be a loss for Antioch, as conflicting meeting dates will force the the new community and economic development director of one town to resign his post as a trustee in the other.

Des Plaines officials announced last week that Antioch Trustee George Sakas has been hired to lead the city's community and economic development department. His first day is scheduled for Dec. 16.

Sakas, who previously spent eight years as community development director for the village of Schiller Park, has served as a trustee in Antioch in northern Lake County since 2009. The dual positions did not previously pose a scheduling conflict, he said, as the village boards in Antioch and Schiller Park meet on different days of the week.

Leaders in Antioch and Des Plaines, however, meet on the same day of the week.

"I'll have to depart as a trustee," Sakas said. "I'll probably end up resigning here in pretty short order."

The development director position in Des Plaines has remained vacant since previous director Alex Dambach resigned in May after only eight months on the job.

Des Plaines officials touted Sakas' development experience, including stints as senior planner in Antioch, a regional manager for a chemical safety company in Schaumburg, an environmental manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and a community planner for the U.S. Department of the Army.

"George's wealth of experience and related knowledge has already made him a key addition to the city of Des Plaines and the senior staff team," City Manager Michael Bartholomew said in a release. "I'm confident George will play a key role in providing and implementing high-quality solutions for the city."

Sakas said the city's proximity to O'Hare Airport and major expressways make it an attractive site for development, as does its existing infrastructure.

"I worked in Antioch, where all the infrastructure had to be put in from scratch," he said.

Challenges exist, he said, both in the city's flooding issues and aging building stock.

"I'm very comfortable because I worked in the area for eight years," he said. "I know there are challenges, but I've been through a few challenges before. Many of us who work in public service, that's one of the things we kind of sign up for."